The Vampire & Her Witch

Ashlynn watched the people in the room grappling with what Ignatious had just told them.

She and Nyrielle had argued about whether or not they should reveal what Ignatious had just shared. Nyrielle felt that it was unnecessary. They didn’t require understanding from the lesser lords of the realm, only obedience, and shaking the foundations of a person’s understanding of the world could have unpredictable results.

But Ashlynn wanted more than obedience. She wanted loyalty from her vassals. There were times when a ruler needed to hold secrets back, relying on the trust they’d cultivated with their vassals over the years to carry them through when they couldn’t explain their reasons... But the foundation of their empire couldn’t rest on secrets. Hidden histories, distorted narratives and manipulated faith were all tools of the Kingdom and the Church, and she’d seen all too clearly what those tools produced.

Their empire would be different.

It had to be.

Right now, when Ashlynn looked out at the Great Hall, she saw half a dozen fault lines where people were cracking. Lady Tosha had removed her radiant sun pendant, though she still held it in her hand, and her eyes flicked between Ignatious and the icon she’d worn her entire life as though she was searching for something she couldn’t yet name.

Sir Gavin Maeril had crossed his arms over his chest, and the look he gave the Eldritch soldiers at his table was anything but kind. It seemed like he’d just heard confirmation of all his greatest fears, that the Eldritch were every bit as dangerous as the sorcerers who threatened the world after the fall of the Empire of Endless Waves.

The parts of Ignatious’s story that fit into the world he knew, he latched onto, but the rest... It seemed like he hadn’t even heard, and unfortunately, he wasn’t the only knight wearing a hardened expression as he looked at the Eldritch people in the room.

Morwen, at the table closest to the central table, had tears in her eyes. The senseless tragedy of it all struck deep at a heart that was kind and full of care and left her not only shaking but grieving for the uncountable number of lives that had been lost over the years to this tragedy.

Eira, on the other hand, looked more frustrated and determined than Ashlynn had yet seen the young lady. The truth hurt, and she wanted, or perhaps needed, to do something with that hurt, but she didn’t know what to do. There was no target in the room for her to lash out at, and she didn’t yet possess the power to take action on her own, leaving her both motivated and directionless.

These were all reactions that Ashlynn had expected, just as she’d expected to see men like Telent Rundel and his wife Brighde who wore carefully neutral expressions while calculations ran behind their eyes. People who had navigated the politics of the Lothian Court or any other political arena were quietly taking notes, learning the new rules of power before making their moves.

A small smile formed on Ashlynn’s lips as she noted the people who allowed their ambitions to rule them. Let them scheme, she thought. The rules were about to change and the paths to power that had worked for people like Telent Rundel for his whole life were about to reach dead ends.

”The old orders have failed us,” Ashlynn said as she stood once again, nodding briefly to Ignatious so he could return to his seat beside Heila.

”The Eldritch order saved a people on the brink of extinction and allowed them to rebuild in the aftermath of the Age of Ice,” Ashlynn said. ”But it cannot protect the Eldritch people from a threat like the Church, who see their way of life as the second coming of the Age of Chaos.”

”At the same time,” Ashlynn continued. ”The Kingdom of Gaal and the Church have been blinded by their own light. In humanity’s earliest days among the Eldritch, people like Nyrielle’s parents proved that we could live side by side and learn from each other, and Freeholders like Wolstan continued to prove that decades later.”

”Sadly, the Church only has one method of handling people who can create their own ’miracles,’” Ashlynn said. ”And that method has given us hundreds of years of bloodshed little different from the Age of Chaos the Church was supposed to protect us from.”

”I have no desire to trample on the achievements of our predecessors,” Ashlynn said, smiling briefly at Dirar when she used the word ’trample.’ ”The Jaws of Death, the Sovereign of Stars and the Mother of Forests reshaped the Eldritch world and rescued the Eldritch people from crisis. We can all praise and revere them for what they did, and we can honor their legacy.”

”The Great Prophet and the Saint Teacher rescued humanity from the Age of Chaos,” Ashlynn said. ”They forged chains that prevented humanity from destroying itself with power it had demonstrated it couldn’t wield responsibly, and in doing so they left behind a legacy that includes as many genuine miracles as it does tragedies. My cousin, Eleanor,” Ashlynn said, her voice cracking slightly as she turned to look at Jocelynn.

”Eleanor was a Confessor who dedicated her life to helping people find their way out of the darkness and into the light,” Ashlynn said. ”In the end, she gave her life in exchange for one last miracle to save my sister from the cruelty of the Inquisition. There are elements of the legacy of the Great Prophet and the Saint Teacher that are worth treasuring to this day, but we can no longer afford to be bound by the chains they forged.”

”In this room, we have new miracles,” Ashlynn said, looking down the length of the table and at the closest table as her smile grew wide.

”In the past year, I’ve seen countless examples of people from both sides reaching out,” Ashlynn said. ”Forging friendships. Finding love. Fighting side by side or simply building homes together to raise their children. I’ve seen all the proof I need to see to know that we can break free of the cycles we’ve been trapped in and live better lives...”

”We’ve gathered up the seeds,” she told the assembled audience. ”We just need to give them fertile soil to grow, and for that, we need a new Empire.”